Adjustable point marking gauge



Jim 2, 1951 G. R. LEE 2,536,378

ADJUSTABLE POINT MARKING GAUGE Filed Feb. 20, 1950 FIG. l.

INVENTOR GEORGE ROBERT LEE ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 2, e1951 UNITED 4STATES PATENT DFFICE ADJUSTABLEV POINT MARKING GAUGE George Robert Lee, Glendale, Calif. Application February 20, 1950, Serial No. 145,205

l 1 Claim.

The present invention relates to gages in ge eral and particularly to an adjustable gage used by carpenters. More speciiically the invention comprises a manually adjustable gage particularly useful in centering bolt holes tor handles, etc.

The gage comprising the present invention is adapted for many uses and particularly in fixing centers with respect to va vertical and a horizontal plane. In one particular application the gage is use for the iixing of the centers of the supporting bolts of drawer handles. It is desirable that the supporting bolts for the drawer be positioned at a certain distance below the upper edge of the drawer, and usually at equal distances upon opposite sides of a medial center line. With a gage constructed in accordance with the present invention the center marks can be placed at the exact desired distance below the top edge of the drawer and at equal distances upon opposite sides of a medial vert-ical center line by means of a simple adjustment. When in place the user can deliver a slight tapping blow to the gage thereby making an impressionin the face of the drawer which can then be used as the centers of the bolt holes.

With an understanding of the problems encountered by carpenters in centering drawer handles and the like it is an object of the present invention to provide a new improved adjustable gage particularly useful in locating the supporting bolts of drawer handles.

It is another object of the invention to provide a gage adapted to be supported at predetermined distances below a supporting surface and which includes marking means which are laterally adjustable on opposite sides of a medial center line.

Still another object of the invention is to provide e, marking gage unit for carpenters which comprises in combination a Starrett rule and a vertically adjustable unit slidable thereon and including' laterally adjustable markers.

These and other more specific objects will appear upon reading the following specication and claim and upon considering in connection therewith the attached drawing to which they relate.

Referring now to the drawing in which a preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated: i

Figure 1 shows the gage constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Figure is a view looking in the direction of the arrows upon the line 2-2 of Figure l;

Figure 3 is a vertical transverse section upon the line 3 3 or" Figure l and shows the laterally adjustable pin-carrying runners;

Figure 4 is a horizontal section upon the line ri-fi' of Figure l and discloses the manually adjustable means by which the runners are laterally adjusted; and

Figure 5 is an enlarged showing of the end mounting of the rotatable screw.

In the drawing the gage constructed in accordance with the present invention is indicated generally by the reference character Iii and includes a Starrett rule comprising an elongated ruler l l, preferably of metal with distance markings along one edge, and on which a runner l2 is longitudinally adjustable, being `adapted to be retained in set positions 4by means of a manually operable adjustment I3 in `a' conventional manner. rihe Starrett rule itself, comprising the ruler i l and the runner l2, is to be understood to be conventional and no invention is claimed therein except in the combination disclosed.

Also slidable upon the rule Il is a marking unit, indicated generally by the reference character I5, which comprises an elongated channeled body IE having end walls Il. The back or bot-tom wall of body IG is provided with a transverse channel or groove IS upon one side of a medial dividing plane which channel `or groove is sized to permit the rule I I to slide therethrough without looseness or play. An overlying spring plate IS secured by screws 2I retains the unit in place and against the face oi the rule l l. Spring plate i9 has ends which normally bow outwardly, as illustrated in dotted lines in Figure l, so that upon being drawn, against the body back by the screws 2| it will be forced tightly against the race of the rule to provide suiiicient friction to prevent unintentional sliding of the marking unit thereon,

An elongated screw 23, having reversed threads upon opposite sides of a centrally located knurled cylindrical enlargement 2e, extends between the end walls Il of body i6 being rotatably supported in the end walls by pins 2t on the ends of screws 2l. Interiorly threaded nut members 2s ride at equal distances from the mid-point of screw Z3, the outer dimensions of the nuts permitting them to slide without turning in the channel body i6 while projecting slightly therefrom at the open side. Each nut 2t carries a pointed pin 3| which projects through an elongated slot 32 in the back wall of body lli. Markings are arranged along the edges or" slots 32 to indicate the distance spacing the pins 3l from the medial center plane of the marking unit.

In the use of the gage constructed in accordance with the present invention let it be assumed that it is desired to fix accurately the centers of holes to be drilled in the face of a drawer for handle-supporting bolts. Let it be assumed also that it is desired thatV the holes are to be located at a certain distance below the up-per edge of the drawer face, and that they are to be spaced a certain distance upon each side of a medial center line. To place the center marks in the desired positions the runner I2 of the Starrett rule or square is positioned upon the rule proper I I at a particular height and is secured in place. The marking unit I5 is then positioned thereunder at a distance such that with the straight underside of the runner I2 resting upon the upper edge of the drawer face the pins 3|, which are to fix the hole centers, will be spaced at the desired height below that upper edge. The pins 3| are positioned a fixed distance below the top edge of the body I6, and the user can know their distance from the runner I2 by adding that xed distance to the distance separating the runner from the upper edge of body I6. In addition to fixing their distance below the top of the drawer it is also desirable that the handle holes be spaced by a denite distance upon opposite Sides of a center line. The desired distance between the pins 3| is obtained by the operator manually rotating cylinder 24, and with it the screw 23, whereupon the nuts 29 upon opposite sides thereof are simultaneously moved outwardly o1' inwardly, depending upon the direction of screw rotation. To space the pins 3| farther apart the cylinder 2li is rotated in one direction, and to move the nuts 29 toward each other it is rotated in the opposite direction. The distance separating the pins is indicated upon the scale provided opposite each pin slot 32.

While the particular apparatus herein shown and described in detail is fully capable of attaining the objects and providing the advantages hereinbefore stated, it is to be understood that it is merely illustrative of the presently preferred embodiments of the invention and that no limitations are intended to the details of construction or design herein shown other than as defined in the appended claim.

I claim:

In a marking gage of the type adapted to indicate the centers of screw holes for drawer pulls relative to the top edge of a drawer front, an elongated rule adjustably supporting for longitudinal movement therealong a runner having a said ruleyand a marking unit slidably mounted on said rule for movement toward and Yfrom said runner and comprising an elongated rigid body extended transversely of and upon both sides of said rule and having elongated slots extended perpendicularly to said rule and rigid ends, said body being transversely channeled between its ends to receive said rule, means including a closure plate for said channel having its outer surface flush with the surface of said body to retain said rule frictionally in said channel and against unintended displacement relative to said unit, said unit also including a rotatable screw oppositely threaded upon opposite sides of said rule and the ends of which are mounted for rotation at the rigid ends of said body and which is formed between its own ends with a knurled cylindrical surface adapted to receive a rotating force, a pair of spaced internally threaded nut members carried by said screw in sliding abutting contact with said body to prevent their rotation upon the rotation of said screw, each of said nut members carrying a rigid marking element pointed-at its end and which extends through the adjacent slot in said body in position to make marking contact with a drawer front adjacent said rule and said unit body upon the application of a tapping blow force to said knurled cylindrical Y surface.

GEORGE ROBERT LEE.

REFERENCES CITED Y The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

